Aussie families remember Montevideo Maru

By Ilya Gridneff of AAP

June 28, 2009 - 2:59PM

 

The hardest thing for families who lost relatives in the sinking of the Montevideo Maru (pictured)  during World War II was not knowing the fate of their loved ones.

But for those families, closure may finally come on Wednesday when a plaque is unveiled at an official ceremony marking Australia's worst maritime tragedy.

Ailsa Nisbet, 82, along with her daughter Marg Curtis and cousin Ron Hayes, will represent one of 15 Australian families at the July 1 memorial at Subic Bay, on the Philippines west coast.

They leave Melbourne on Monday to pay respects to Nisbet's brother Private John `Jack' Groat, who was on board the Montevideo Maru when it sank on July 1, 1942, carrying 845 prisoners of war from Australia's Lark Force and 208 civilian men.

The troops had been taken prisoner after Japan invaded Rabaul in Papua New Guinea's East New Britain province in January 1942.

The unmarked Japanese ship left occupied Rabaul on June 22, 1942 but nine days later an American submarine, unaware it was carrying allied prisoners, torpedoed it off the Philippines coast.

The sinking of the ship was not reported back to Australia, and for several years the fate of the prisoners of war was unknown.

Nisbet said for years it was a mystery as to what happened to her brother.

"The family was first told he was missing," she told AAP.

"Then they said `missing presumed dead', then we got a message he was a prisoner of war, then we got a letter from Jack saying he was being looked after by the Japanese.

"But that's all. Mum didn't hear what happened until late 1945.

"And there is still doubt about it," she said.

In 1997, Nisbet visited Rabaul to see where her brother was stationed and earlier this year for Anzac Day, Curtis and Hayes completed a three-day trek retracing the escape many Larkforce men had to make during Japanese occupation.

"It's a very emotional trip," Nisbet said.

"It's been many, many years and nothing has been heard of the Montevideo Maru and it's just all coming out now.

"I'm the last member of the family and it will be a closure for me to go up there."

Former federal Labor leader Kim Beazley, whose uncle Reverend Sydney Beazley was lost on the ship, is the patron of the Montevideo Maru Memorial Committee.

Phil Ainsworth, in the Philippines for the event, said the committee aims to get more national recognition for the tragedy.

"This memorial will give the families some comfort because even now 67 years later they still feel discomforted and in grief," he said.

Another attendee is Andrea Williams whose grandfather and great uncle were on board. She wants a government response similar to that for the recently-found HMAS Sydney, another World War II sea tragedy that claimed 645 lives.

"There is a fair amount of literature on the Montevideo sinking but there are some nagging specifics, like why there was no inquiry into the fate of these men," she said.

"It is still a secret as to why these men were left to their fate."

Australian archives had several passenger lists but they were inconsistent and there was no passenger manifest, she said.

"What has happened to the nominal roll of the men apparently on board?"

Veteran Affairs Minister Alan Griffin marked the 67th anniversary of the sinking of the Montevideo Maru by giving a speech to parliament last Friday.

Griffin said the Australian government put $7,200 towards the memorial and the Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Rod Smith will attend.

"I've spoken to individuals who lost family members as part of the Montevideo Maru and I know these things remain with people forever," he said.

"I express my heartfelt sympathy for their loss.

"I told parliament it was shrouded in mystery and that must have added to their loss."

 

How life in Asia has changed...13 ways

Adapted from an article by Nuri Vittachi, sometime journalist with the Macau Post and other newspapers in Asia.

 

1. The phrase 'Big Mac' referred to a large Scottish tourist.

2. The Queen of England was generally considered to be the Queen of the Whole Wide World.

3. At government offices you had to pay a special fee to do anything, including paying special fees.

4. Hairdresser referred to anyone who did haircuts, shaves and amateur surgical operations such as circumcisions [still true in certain parts of Asia]

5. Each city had just one TV station a few cinemas but there was a better choice of what to watch then even though we have over 500 channels and even fewer cinemas now.

6. If you wanted to withdraw money from a bank you had to take a day off work.

7. All light-haired, round-eyed people were referred to as Europeans, no matter where they came from. Former President George Bush is still referred to as a European in some parts of Asia.

8. Europeans were generally hated and despised but if one invited you to tea, it was considered a very great honour.

9. All toffee-coloured, curry-devouring people were known as Indians, even if they had been born raised and had lived and died without ever having been within a thousand kilometers of India.

10. Petrol was bought in tiny quantities, often in jam jars [still true today in parts of Indo-China and other places].

11. If you asked children their mother's name, they would often reply,'Which one?'.

12. Blood donating was seen as a legitimate way of earning money, and so was blood spilling.

13. When children got a boyfriend or girlfriend, the first question parents asked was 'What passport does he/she have?'

Telikom unveils wireless services

From The National, Papua New Guinea’s leading daily newspaper

 

TELIKOM is making cheaper, high quality wireless telephone and internet services available to its customers.

With its wireless phone launched recently, customers can make a call at peak hours for 6toea a minute, and 3toea a minute during off peak hours. The new service started at 10pm last Thursday.

Last Thursday afternoon, the company announced it now has on the market wireless high speed internet, initially for Port Moresby and Madang only.

Lae will be hooked up this week, and the other major towns thereafter.

Telikom chief executive officer Peter Loko unveiled the new product to reporters during a press conference last Thursday.

Customers will have access to high speed internet access, which downloads data at speeds of up to 1Mb/second via the wireless telephone at home.

It is available through Telikom’s X’cess fixed wireless network.

Also, a simple USB plug-in device provides wireless access to the internet at high speed through any enabled laptop or PC, separate from the phone, anywhere within range of the fixed wireless signal, which is about 50km.

Telikom estimates that 90,000 new customers will join the fixed wireless network by the end of the year, and they have the opportunity to have the internet access on either a medium speed of 153kbps, or on the High Speed Telikom plan.

“This is exciting new technology, but simple, and available at low cost to Papua New Guinea grassroots as well as big business, and it is being taken up with great enthusiasm,” Mr Loko said.

“The high speed wireless access speed and wireless portability has an introductory special price of K199, plus a monthly fee, and has 1Mb per second download capability, anywhere in PNG within range of our wireless network.

“It’s revolutionary, it’s cheap, and it is going to bring thousands of people into wireless internet access,” Mr Loko said.

Asked if the move to the wireless technology would mean rendering the fixed and cable network obsolete, Mr Loko said the market would decide that.

“We’ve invested a lot in our cable network, and we want to continue to use it for a return on investment, but the market will decide for us which way we go, down the track.”

Telikom recently invested a lot of money to upgrade its cable network. The new wireless internet product will be the envy of other internet service providers.

Asked if Telikom’s entry into the market would create regulatory issues, company officials said they were “within the legal and regulatory boundary”.

 

City killings

MP’s son among three killed in post-Origin violence

 

From The National, Papua New Guinea’s leading daily newspaper

 

THREE men were killed in Port Moresby and several others injured last Wednesday night as celebrations after the Maroons’ historic victory in the State of Origin rugby league series turned bloody.

Three men, two of them university students, were beaten and slashed to death at a Five-Mile Settlement. One of the victims was the son of Puri Ruing, the MP for Dei Open in Western Highlands province.

In Hohola, a man from Southern Highlands was hit by a police vehicle early yesterday morning as he ran across the road. He was taken to the Port Moresby General Hospital and is in a critical but stable condition.

His relatives, who live at Silkwood Street, vented their anger on motorists travelling along there, damaging at least five vehicles.

At Five-Mile, a grieving Mr Ruing was in shock after learning that his 21-year-old son, Manuel, and nephew Joel Aiwa, also 21, had been murdered at the settlement. The identity of the third deceased could not be ascertained yesterday.

A spokesperson for the family, Geoffrey Kuri, said the two had watched the State of Origin match at their Five-Mile home and at about 11pm, they decided to go out and buy a few drinks at the settlement.

He said the pair were attacked by a mob of drunkards from the settlement, who slashed them with bush knives and other weapons.

Mr Kuri said the two victims were doing their matriculation studies at the University of Papua New Guinea’s Open campus.

“Their bodies were mutilated and their heads and other body parts were badly chopped up. It was a barbaric act by the attackers who did not have mercy on another human being’s life,” Mr Kuri said.

The Five-Mile Settlement area has become a notorious place in NCD, where people sell alcohol illegally, residents say.

“Every week a person is being killed in this particular part of the city and this is not the first time.

“We as a family have suffered a double loss,” Mr Kuri said.

Mr Ruing appealed to NCD metropolitan commander, Chief Supt Fred Yakasa, to work round the clock to arrest the perpetrators of the murder who are said to be still at large.

“As a leader in the country, I cannot take the law into my own hands and ask my tribe to retaliate.

“No, let the law take control of the situation.

“Let us respect the law of the land, but police have to act immediately,” Mr Ruing said.

He said there was an alarming breakdown of law and order in the country, and nobody could feel safe anymore.

“The police force alone can’t be blamed for this.

“It is the National Government and all other sectors in the country.

“We have to take a joint approach to solve this very serious problem,” Mr Ruing added.

Dr Sam Yakopua, who is in charge of Accidents and Emergency at the Port Moresby General Hospital, confirmed that they had received the three bodies on Wednesday night.

Dr Yakopua said eight injuries were also reported, one of them very serious.

“It’s ridiculous, these injuries from violence related to the Origin match,” he said.

He confirmed the deaths of the two students from heavy bleeding resulting from knife wounds to the head, limbs and other parts of the body.

Pacific Adventist University library renovations begin

Library renovations (pictured) have begun at Pacific Adventist University's (PAU) Koiari Park campus near Port Moresby.
 The renovations – which have been two years in the planning and which are expected to cost approximately K400, 000 -  are anticipated to be complete in early Semester 2, 2009.
The library renovations will result in new study areas, additional shelving, an upgraded post-graduate and research facility, increased computer space and new staff offices.
 The library expansion will include the dedication of the library’s recently-updated computer facilities that students have had to towards the end of last semester.
The computer facilities include an increase of library computers by almost 800%, further expanded wireless access to internet and related services and additional electricity outlets for laptop computers.
 To increase the space available, a number of internal walls will be removed that are no longer needed since the administration team moved into a dedicated building at the end of 2008.
Another key part of the renovations will be the removal of the large ramp taking up most of the library’s downstairs floor.
 In its place a redesigned ramp will be installed to continue to provide access to those with physical impairments.
The K400, 000 needed for the library renovations and repairs have been made possible through generous donations from members of the Seventh Day Adventist church across Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.
The work for the renovations work is being completed and managed by PAU's internal support services team during the semester break.
PAU is a tertiary institution owned and operated by the SDA Church, offering diploma, bachelor and post-graduate awards in a range of disciplines.
PAU is located at Koiari Park, 14 miles from Port Moresby, PNG with affiliate campuses Fulton (Suva, Fiji) and Sonoma College (East New Britain province, PNG).

Silent and deadly

By GEOFFREY LUCK

 Article from:  The Australian

TWO generations afterwards, World War II in New Guinea means simply Kokoda to most Australians. Perhaps also Milne Bay, where the Japanese were first defeated. But the memory tends to cloud at mention of Buna, Gona, the Markham Valley, Shaggy Ridge and Scarlet Beach, Finschhafen - all great Australian victories in impossible conditions - and Salamaua. Yet it was in Salamaua, in the early hours of June 29, 1942, that Australian commandos struck the first blow in the Pacific land war.

The raid has been acclaimed as a copybook action for its diligent scouting, meticulous planning and audacious, multi-pronged attack against an enemy force 10 times the attackers' strength. All without loss of life.

The Japanese, well fed and complacent, were surprised and humiliated by a puny Australian force that had struggled for days over the jungle ranges with weapons, ammunition and heavy packs, then camped and planned their raid under the noses of the enemy. The response, to reinforce the base, tied down thousands of troops that would otherwise have been thrown into the Kokoda and Milne Bay battles a few months later.

Today Salamaua is little more than a couple of native villages and some holiday shacks for expatriates and tourists. But in the 1930s it was the Australian administration's district headquarters and a thriving commercial centre. From its airstrip, the three-engined Junkers cargo planes flew huge gold dredges into the Bulolo valley, piece by piece. At the time, that was the biggest commercial airlift in the world. All ended with the Japanese landing on March 8, 1942, virtually unopposed, bringing the enemy one step closer in its plan to isolate and neutralise Australia.

When the Australians had to abandon Salamaua, a handful of pre-war residents - patrol officers, clerks, miners and traders - were hastily co-opted into the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles and went bush to keep an eye on the invaders. They became the scouts who lived in the hills overlooking the Salamaua isthmus, noting and recording the defences and habits of the enemy. They were so close they could hear the bell ringing to warn of an air raid. Damien Parer took his famous photograph of the isthmus from their observation post.

In mid-1942, the only fit, trained troops Australia had in the area were about 450 men of the 2/5th Independent (commando) Company. Too small a force to draw the Japanese into battle, their task was to harass the enemy at their bases of Lae and Salamaua.

The task of planning and leading the attack on Salamaua went to captain Norman Winning, a wiry red-headed Scot instantly nick-named "the Red Steer", a dynamic, inventive born leader. NGVR sergeant Jim McAdam, who I knew in his later life as director of forests in the PNG administration, led his scouts up to the houses where the Japanese were sleeping to assess the enemy strength. Then, as silently as they had slipped in, they returned to the Australian forward base, only 5km from Salamaua, to transfer their vital intelligence to a sand model of the Japanese base. With Winning, they planned the raid down to the last detail.

Starting at 2pm on June 28, seven sections moved out through thick bush, native gardens and pit swamp to get close to their targets: the airfield, wireless masts, a strategic bridge and troop billets. One team lugged a heavy 3-inch (7.6cm) mortar that would keep the Japanese on the isthmus pinned down. The rest were armed with Tommy guns, rifles and a few Bren guns. Every man had two grenades and a pistol and carried extra ammunition. But their most devastating weapon was their homemade "sticky bomb", an anti-tank grenade wrapped with packs of the explosive TNT.

The night was black. It rained heavily but at midnight the moon broke through. At 3.14am, one minute before zero hour, almost everyone was in position. A Japanese sentry walked out to relieve himself and found himself staring at a blackened-face commando. He screamed the alarm and was immediately cut down by a burst of machine-gun fire. The raid was on. Years later, the men of the 2/5th told their stories of that night in a series of laconic anecdotes for the unit's war history Commando Double Black.

Corporal Bernie Davis's account: "I raced up the steps of the building, tore it open and hurled my sticky bomb inside, yelling: 'Share that for breakfast, you bastards!' The bomb went off, blew the door off its hinges and sent me somersaulting into the garden. Some of the surviving Japanese were escaping through a trapdoor in the floor. Squatting on the ground was an enterprising Aussie. He was calmly killing the enemy one by one as they landed on the ground. He looked like he was stacking bags of wheat under the hut, until the supply of Japs ran out."

Don Suter, NGVR: "Our mortar unit fired 36 bombs. One of them fell directly on the most important target, a strongpoint at the neck of the isthmus. Fifteen Japanese were in this post."

Sergeant Mal Bishop was wounded as he threw his bomb into one of the old Chinese trade stores: "The next thing I knew was a severe blow on the right shoulder, which put me down on my knees. I scrambled to my feet when my bomb went off."

The blast blew him across the road into the sea: "The next recollection I had was of being picked up out of the water by one of the native helpers. He was pushing my Thompson sub-machine gun into my hands and yelling: 'Masta! Kill'em Japan!"'

After three-quarters of an hour of destruction, killing 120 of the enemy, two red flares signalled the withdrawal. Ken "Andy" Knox was covering the pullout with his Bren gun. His mate Cliff Biggs, refilling the magazines, complained: "You're firing a bit low, aren't you? My face is covered in mud. I reckon you're hitting the ground about a foot in front of the bloody gun." "Stop your bloody grizzling, Cliff, and say a bloody prayer," replied Knox. "That mud is from the Japanese bullets coming towards us."

The great prize of the operation was a bag of documents a Japanese pilot was trying to fly out when he was killed. They contained the plans of the landings at Buna and Milne Bay. Pre-war skiing champion Bill Harris ran back 50km over the mountains in two days to deliver them to Kanga Force HQ. The warning enabled Australian divisions to be recalled from leave and rushed to reinforce Milne Bay.

The commanding officer of Kanga Force, Lieutenant Colonel Fleay, who never left Wau, was awarded the DSO for personal gallantry. Not one of the men on the Salamaua operation, the first and most successful commando raid of the war, received a decoration. The surviving men of the 2/5th are still asking why.

Geoffrey Luck was a reporter in Papua New Guinea for seven years.

Pictures from today's Port Moresby National High School cultural day

Pop star Michael Jackson has died

Pop star Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles, aged 50, reports (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8119993.stm ) say.

Paramedics were called to the singer's home around midday local time on Thursday after he stopped breathing and suffered a suspected cardiac arrest.

He was rushed by ambulance to a local medical centre, but his death was announced shortly afterwards.

The star, who had a history of health problems, had been due to begin a series of comeback concerts in the UK on 13 July.

Jackson had a history of health problems and had not completed a concert tour in 12 years.

Concerns were raised last month when four of his "comeback" concerts were pushed back, but organisers insisted the dates had been moved due to the sheer magnitude of the spectacle.

A spokeswoman for The Outside Organisation, which was organising the publicity for the shows, said she had no comment at this time.

Uri Gellar, a close friend of the star, told BBC News: "I'm devastated - it's very, very sad.

"I'm still trying to hold on to the glimmer that it's not true. It's too surreal for me to absorb that Michael is no longer with us."

US media reports said paramedics were called to the singer's house in Bel Air at midday.

They performed CPR on Jackson and rushed him to the UCLA medical centre.

Crowds have begun to gather outside the facility, whose emergency centre has been roped off by police.

Jackson began his career as a child in family group The Jackson 5.

He then went on to achieve global fame as a solo artist with smash hits such as "Thriller" and "Bad".

But the singer has been dogged by controversy and money trouble in recent years, becoming a virtual recluse.

He had three children, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Jackson II.

 

 

Statement in Australian House of Representatives on the Montevideo Maru

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

Montevideo Maru

House of Representatives, Thursday 25 June 2009

Mr GRIFFIN (Bruce—Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) (3.53 pm)—War brings many tragedies and next week we commemorate one of the greatest tragedies of the Second World War. On 1 July 1942, a United States submarine patrolling the Babuyan Channel leading from Luzon in the Philippines into the South China Sea torpedoed and sank what it believed to be a Japanese merchant vessel. It was in fact the Montevideo Maru carrying Australian prisoners of war. Its sinking is the greatest single maritime tragedy in Australia’s history, with the loss of 1,053 Australian lives. The Montevideo Maru carried no markers identifying it as a POW transport and was indistinguishable from legitimate targets of allied aircraft and submarines. The prisoners were locked in the hold with no means of escape once the ship was struck. The Montevideo Maru took 11 minutes to sink. No prisoners survived.

What we know of this tragedy comes from Japanese survivors who eventually reached Manila and reported the sinking. By the time searches were launched, it was too late. No trace of the vessel or any survivors could be found. On board were 1,053 Australian prisoners of war and civilians who had been captured and held by the Japanese at Rabaul on the island of New Britain in what is now Papua New Guinea. Among those aboard was former member for Brand Kim Beazley’s uncle and the current member for Kingsford Smith’s grandfather.

Through the war, Australian authorities sought information on the whereabouts of those captured at Rabaul. However, they were never informed that the Montevideo Maru was sunk with the loss of all prisoners during the war. It was not until after the war that Australian authorities discovered the tragic story. With 1 July this year being the 67th anniversary of the sinking of the ship, we will pause to remember the loss.

The servicemen lost on the Montevideo Maru are among the 12,104 casualties of World War II who have no known grave.

On 1 July this year, the Australian Ambassador to the Philippines, Mr Rod Smith, will unveil a plaque commemorating those on board the Montevideo Maru on behalf of the Papua New Guinea Volunteer Rifles Association at the Hell Ships Memorial established in memory of all the ships that carried POWs. Later in the year, under a grant made by the Australian government to the RSL Angeles sub branch in the Philippines, commemoration of the Montevideo Maru at the Hell Ships memorial will be further enhanced and an interpretation will be placed in a nearby museum.

The families and associations with connections to the Montevideo Maru have never lost sight of the tragedy that occurred 67 years ago. That it is still shrouded in mystery must also add to their sense of loss. It is something that we as a nation should never forget, as I am sure all members would agree.

Mrs MARKUS (Greenway) (3.56 pm)—I rise on indulgence, Mr Speaker. I would like to associate the coalition with the minister’s remarks. The sinking of the Montevideo Maru with the loss of 1,053 Australian prisoners of war and civilians on 1 July 1942 is the greatest single tragedy in Australia’s maritime history.

More importantly, it is also one of our lesser known.

The Montevideo Maru sank after being torpedoed off the Philippines. There were no survivors. The Australian prisoners of war and civilians who perished had been captured and held by the Japanese at Rabaul on the Island of New Britain in what is now known as Papua New Guinea. I note that the names of the army and air force casualties are listed on the memorial to the missing at the Bita Paka war cemetery in Rabaul, which I have had the honour of visiting.

In placing my condolences on the record today, I wish to help to bring to the attention of the Australian public this little-known sacrifice of 1,053 Australians on board the Montevideo Maru so many years ago. In particular, I wish to thank and acknowledge those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this nation, a sacrifice that has contributed to the peace that we enjoy today.

I understand that on 1 July on the 67th anniversary of the tragedy the Australian Ambassador to the Philippines will unveil a new plaque commemorating those on board the Montevideo Maru on behalf of the PNG Volunteer Rifles Association at the Hell Ships Memorial established in memory of all the ships that carried prisoners of war. I commend this latest acknowledgement of the tragedy, but also wish to remind the House of the important and vital contribution of our veteran community, past, present and also into the future. It is important in honouring those who have served our nation and given the ultimate sacrifice and also in acknowledging the significant loss to their families that every effort is made to locate the resting place of those who lost their lives at sea on that fateful day. I ask and urge the government to do everything that it can to locate the resting place of those who lost their lives when the Montevideo Maru sank. Lest we forget.

A PNG Attitude

Young Jackson - aged 18, taken soon after arrival in PNG in November 1963

Keith Jackson with Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare and Orange City councillor in Canberra, April 2009

Keith Jackson speaking in front of PNG flag as President of PNG Association of Australia, April 2008

Keith Jackson and Di Siune . Di, from Simbu, looked Jackson in his early PNG years. Photo from 1964

Charles Lepani (left) and Keith Jackson (right) at investiture into the Order of Logohu of Hal Holman OL on Feb 20, 2009

At the base camp at Lake Pindiu 11,000 ft on Mt Wilhelm, Easter 1964

As a returning officer taking votes in the bush south of Chuave in the first House of Assembly elections February 1964

An increasing number of Papua New Guineans and Australians are now turning to the ground-breaking PNG Attitude website (http://asopa.typepad.com/) and newsletter, two outlets with growing influence in both countries for their candid commentary on Australia-PNG affairs.
Both are published by former PNG-based teacher and journalist, Keith Jackson, 64, who is chairman of the Sydney-based public relations firm Jackson Wells.
He lived in PNG from age 18 to 31 and still feels a strong sense of commitment to the country and its people.
PNG Attitude offers a range of views on current Australia-PNG issues from contributors such as Paul Oates, Gelab Piak, Ilya Gridneff, Bernard Narokobi, Don Hook and many guest writers.
Mr Jackson is passionate about using communications processes to build closer relationships between the people of Australia and PNG.
He believes the political relationship has been neglected until recently, and that the civil relationship has a long way to go.
“We’re like a family that’s drifted apart,” Mr Jackson says.
“We need to do something about that, on both sides.”
He says he has some crucial questions he believes Australians want answered about PNG.
“I asked Sir Michael most of them a couple of months ago through an intermediary, but they obviously didn’t get to him.
“They’re questions Australians interested in PNG worry about.”
And what are Keith Jackson’s worrying questions that Australians would like to ask?
“We’re concerned about corruption, about public money going wrongly into private hands. Is this a serious problem? And if it is, what’s the Government doing about it.
“We’re concerned about violence. How safe would we be visiting PNG as tourists? How safe would we be living in PNG?
“It seems the public service is not really delivering for PNG. Rural infrastructure – health, education, basic services - is in bad shape and the people are not getting what they need. What’s the Government doing to fix this?
“We don’t know whether Australian budgetary support - $400 million this year - is being well spent. Can we get some assurance about this?
“Our aid agency, AusAID, spends a lot of the money Australia gives to PNG on consultants. How come these consultants are not delivering the services that are needed at the PNG grass roots?
“We’re not sure about the next generation of PNG politicians. Are they likely to be nation builders – and friendly towards Australia?
“The recent anti-Asian riots indicate a big problem for PNG. They seem to show that Papua New Guineans are being excluded from commerce in their own country. What’s going on?
“These are tough questions,” says Mr Jackson, “but, where I come from in the Australian bush they’d be considered fair. And they need to be answered.
“Why do they need to be answered? Because there’s an underlying suspicion amongst Australians who would be PNG’s best friends that there’s a lot going on that doesn’t smell right.
“You know, the Papua New Guinea Government doesn’t explain itself very well to the Australian people. It probably should. It should probably also explain itself to its own people.”
After finishing high school, Mr Jackson became a cadet education officer at the Australian School of Pacific Administration (ASOPA) in 1962-63, arriving in PNG in November 1963 as an 18-year-old school teacher.
His first posting was as head teacher of the Kundiawa Primary A School, where he also established a local newspaper, the Kundiawa News, and became a correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, South Pacific Post and Pacific Islands Monthly.
After teaching for three years, he was transferred to Port Moresby as editor of school publications and, a year later, joined the ABC to write and produce broadcasts for PNG schools.
Mr Jackson left the ABC to join the PNG Government Broadcasting Service in 1970, managing Radio Rabaul and Radio Bougainville.
Around the time of Independence, he was appointed head of policy and planning in the new National Broadcasting Commission.
Reflecting on PNG’s impact on his life, he says: “I built my career in PNG, I married there, got my degree there, my first two kids were born there, and I made many, many friends.
“I retain a great affection for the country and its people.
“It’s in my blood.”
After leaving PNG in 1976, Mr Jackson developed broadcasting systems in Indonesia, the Maldives, India, the Philippines and Fiji.
Back in Australia, he established radio stations in Armidale and Sydney.
In 1983, he became a lecturer at ASOPA's successor, the International Training Institute, ending up as principal.
In 1985 he returned to the ABC as a general manager before establishing his company, Jackson Wells, in 1991.
“I left PNG but it never really left me,” Mr Jackson says.
“When you’re immersed in a different culture at a very young age, large bits of that culture stick. “One of the big bits of PNG culture that stuck with me was a strong desire to seek consensus.”
Mr Jackson has got the credentials and the awards.
His first degree was a BA in economics and political science from the University of Papua New Guinea and he went on to get a Graduate Diploma in Management from the University of New England.
He was awarded the PNG Independence Medal in 1976 and became a Member of the Order of Australia in 2004 for services to management and training in media, communications and public relations.
His interest in PNG remains undiminished.
He was president of the Papua New Guinea Association of Australia (PNGAA) in 2008-2009 and is currently working on a number of projects related to PNG.
After helping to establish New Dawn FM in Bougainville Mr Jackson continues to work with its manager, Aloysius Laukai, on its news website.
He’s chairman of the Montevideo Maru Memorial Committee.
He’s working on a project to recognise the work of kiaps in PNG.
And he’s trying to get books about PNG history into PNG schools.
“PNG has a rich and proud history,” Mr Jackson says.
“There are books that tell that history.
“They are not in the schools.
“They should be.”

Papua New Guinea's Bank South Pacific likely to take over Fiji's Colonial National Bank

From FijiVillage.com

Publish date/time: 25/06/2009 [16:56]

 

Commonwealth Bank of Australia is now in discussions with Bank of South Pacific of Papua New Guinea regarding the potential sale of Commonwealth Bank's banking and insurance businesses in Fiji.

Bank of South Pacific has approached Commonwealth Bank regarding its regional expansion goals and therefore its interest in acquiring National Bank of Fiji trading as Colonial National Bank and Colonial Fiji Life Limited.

A consequence of these discussions is that Bank of South Pacific has made an indicative non-binding offer and requested a period of exclusive due diligence.

It has been confirmed that Commonwealth Bank Board of Directors in Sydney has considered the terms of the offer and agreed to further discussions and the commencement of the due diligence.

Bank of South Pacific is PNG's largest retail and commercial bank with 35 branches. It also has regional representation in Niue, Solomon Islands and operates two branches in Fiji under a full banking license.

BSP currently holds in excess of 50 percent of market share in both deposits and loans in PNG and as at 31st December last year held total assets of 3.2 billion Australian dollars. 

 

This one's a winner!

Here's an excerpt from Barbara Johnson's book I'm So Glad You Told Me What I Didn't Wanna Hear (pp.178-179)

This is a true story that a friend of the author told her about another couple:

The husband and wife were both late for work on a Monday morning and were frantically hurrying to get dressed when the zipper on the back of the wife's dress got hopelessly stuck. She struggled to free it, but the dress was one of those slim, fitted styles, and try as she might, she just couldn't get a good enough grip on the zipper to work it loose.

She asked her husband to help, and with an exasperated sigh, he hurried over to her, grabbed the zipper, gave it a mighty yank--and broke the tab off! The woman was livid. "You broke it?" she cried, squirming around to see her back in the mirror. "This is my favorite dress, and you've broken the zipper!"

Unfortunately, as the man tried to help her with the zipper his wife squirmed and turned frantically, trying to get out of the dress, and the poor man got tickled. That didn't help matters one bit! Finally the wife gave up, jerked open a dresser drawer, pulled out a pair of scissors, and pointed them at him with a glacier-forming stare.

The husband thought at first she might be planning to attack him with the weapon, but instead she barked at him, "You'll have to cut me out of it."

He quickly snipped away the dress and the wife rushed to find something else to wear, then the two of them headed off to work in opposite directions, both in a state of frustration.

The wife was still fuming when she returned home that evening and found his car parked in the garage with a pair of familiar-looking, denim-clad legs sticking out from beneath it. When she thought of her ruined dress, she momentarily considered kicking those long legs that protruded from under the car. Then a better idea came to her. She bent down, grabbed the tab of his trousers zipper, and roughly zipped it up and down half a dozen times.

She secretly enjoyed hearing him bang his head on the car's axle and cry out in alarm as he reacted in shocked terror. Smiling with satisfaction, she went on into the house...and was ASTONISHED to see her husband standing in the kitchen, cooking supper.

"What are you doing in HERE?" she croaked.

"I'm cooking your favorite dinner. I thought it would be a good way to apologize," he said sweetly.

"Wh-wh-who is that out there in the garage under your car?" she managed to stutter.

"Oh, that's our new neighbor. He came over to help me work on the transmission."

Stoned wallaby crop circles

By Damien Brown in the Courier Mail

June 25, 2009 12:01am

 

WALLABIES are breaking into Tasmania's poppy fields, eating the heads and getting high, causing them to run around in circles creating "crop circles".

The strange occurrence that was revealed in a State Government Budget Estimates hearing, has also solved what some growers say has spurred a campfire legend about mysterious crop circles that appear in northern Tasmania's poppy paddocks.

In true X-Files-style, Attorney-General Lara Giddings said the drugged out wallabies had been found hopping around in circles squashing the poppies, creating the formations – and hence solving the mystery.

"The one interesting bit that I found recently in one of my briefs on the poppy industry was that we have a problem with wallabies entering poppy fields, getting as high as a kite and going around in circles," Ms Gidding said.

"Then they crash. We see crop circles in the poppy industry from wallabies that are high."

Tasmanian Alkaloids field operations manager Rick Rockliff said wildlife and livestock that ate the poppies were known to "act weird" including deer in the state's highlands and sheep.

"There have been many stories about sheep that have eaten some of the poppies after harvesting and they all walk around in circles," Mr Rockliff said.

"But as growers we try our best to try and stop this sort of consumption particularly by livestock due to concerns about the contamination of the meat.

"There is also the risk to our poppy stocks, so growers take this very seriously but there has been a steady increase in the number of wild animals and that is where we are having difficulty keeping them off our land."

 

 

SUBIC BAY - 1 JULY

From KEITH JACKSON

 

Dear Friends of Montevideo Maru -

 From time to time, we'll make suggestions about how you might be able to assist our Committee to focus the mind of the Federal Government on providing national recognition to the men of Rabaul, including those who were on the Montevideo Maru, who died as a result of the Japanese invasion of 1942.

 You will know that the 67th anniversary of the sinking of the Montevideo Maru will be marked next Wednesday with the unveiling of a memorial at Subic Bay. We have so far been successful in obtaining media attention to this event - which helps greatly to raise the profile of the issue with Government.

 Now I ask you to spend a little time over the next few days composing a short letter to your local newspaper (whether metropolitan, suburban or regional) on the Montevideo Maru.

 Let readers know that it was Australia's worst disaster at sea and that efforts are underway to make the story better known and to get the Federal Government to recognise the magnitude of this tragedy. If you can add a few words about your personal connection to the issue, please include them.

 

Many thanks.

 

Keith

 

Keith Jackson AM | Chairman
Jackson Wells | Neutral Bay, Sydney, Australia
t: 02 9904 4333 | f: 02 9904 4555 | m: 0411 222 682
e: benelong@bigpond.net.au.au |  e: kjackson@jacksonwells.com.au
PNG Attitude Website |  w: http://asopa.typepad.com

 

 

 

State of Origin is a waste of time!

All this State of Origin madness by Papua New Guineans is a waste of time and money when we could be doing something to better ourselves.

Likewise, why do we waste so much time watching NRL matches on TV, when we should instead be watching local rugby league matches?

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this.

Please post your comments below.